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Person Asks “What Is Some ‘Poor People’s Food’ That You Will Eat No Matter How Wealthy You Get?”, And 30 Folks Deliver
Interview
Most of us still eat food combinations that we used to love as kids, yet other people might find it weird. It reminds us of our childhood, the feeling when you just put together random ingredients that you find in the kitchen and you are good to go! Also, probably most of these combinations could be called “poor people food” - canned beans, sandwiches, ramen noodles or hot dogs - they may not win any culinary awards, but they hold a special place in our hearts. No matter how rich we become or if we start eating fancy food every day, once in a while, every one of us wants to come back and taste the food that we grew up with.
Someone asked people to share the "poor people food" they will always eat, regardless of how much money they start making, in this online thread. People listed so many different cheap foods, and here are 38 of the most popular ones, so you can check them out and vote for your favorites!
More info: Reddit
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Toast with just butter lol and please dont hate it if youve never tried it, its really good!
To gain some insight on this topic, we reached out to Rachael Hartley, who is a certified intuitive eating counselor and the author of Gentle Nutrition.
She started off by listing a few popular low-cost items that are popular among high-class people: “Some favorite cheap foods include instant ramen noodles, Cheetos, Little Debbie or Hostess cakes, boxed mac and cheese, and fast food.”
Grilled cheese sandwiches. It must be made with the cheap grocery store white bread and American cheese. I've had many "fancy" grilled cheeses in my life with artisan breads and exotic sounding cheeses... but none have ever hit quite the same.
I grew up with both basic and fancy grilled cheese sandwiches, so both hit the same nostalgia note for me. And now I want one: sharp Cheddar and slices of fresh Granny Smith apple on sourdough.
Buttered noodles
I didn't even know I had a memory of this. Buttered noodles and buttered rice.
Rice and beans. So many ways to make it, delicious and nutritious
We make rice bowls at least once a week. Usually rice, beans, chicken, cheese. The kids love it.
Additionally, Hartley provided her thoughts on what might be the key to the deliciousness and satisfaction of such basic and inexpensive food. “Part of the satisfaction behind "poor people food" can be the nostalgia,” she started. “Many of these foods are things we grew up eating and may have an emotional connection to. Also, these foods can just be objectively tasty and satisfying!”
Cinnamon toast
Ramen
im not a fan of ramen as a japanese person but ill eat at least 1-3 times every 1-2 years
Lentils. I swear they will save humanity and the planet. The perfect protein.
“How we view food in terms of quality and nutrition is heavily wrapped up in class assessments. "Foodie" culture often looks down upon "poor people foods" as being lower quality, or compares them to a more expensive version of the same food,” Rachel emphasized. “For example, if you were to put a bowl of Velveeta mac and cheese up against a restaurant's version, made with 3 different cheeses and a crispy panko topping, sure, I think most (but not all!) people would pick the fancy mac and cheese. But that doesn't mean the boxed mac and cheese isn't also delicious, not to mention much more accessible!”
I absolutely love canned tuna. I eat it right out of the can. I find it so delicious and flavorful. I have plenty of disposable income and could probably buy actual bluefin tuna filets but I just love canned tuna. I'll eat it even if i was a millionaire.
No matter how rich I may get, I will never stop eating tuna sandwiches. No matter how poor I may get, I will never eat tuna casserole.
Pasta with tomato sauce and cheese on top. So good! My grandma used to do it for me all the time when she was babysitting, makes me nostalgic.
I had to give up cheese, but noodles with roasted tomatoes and nutritional yeast still are incredibly yummy!!
Now, good news to such food lovers: “Because our conception of health and wellness is heavily wrapped up in status and class, cheap foods are often viewed as less healthy, when in reality they are almost always chemically and nutritionally the same or similar to their more expensive counterparts.
My mom used to make "shmasta noodles" for us a lot growing up, it's basically just fried rice with bacon or sausage in it. We also had to eat a lot of ramen so she'd mix it up by frying it, putting a hard boiled egg on top and calling it a bird nest
Mac & Cheese with cut up hotdogs.
Moreover, she provided a few examples: “Fruit juice from a carton and expensive cold-pressed juice are both just pressed fruit and fancy kettle chips and Lay's potato chips are both fried potatoes. Even when there is a nutrition difference, it doesn't justify categorizing one food as "good" and another as "bad.”
Perogies. Easy to make, cheap and easy to freeze . Different ways to make them
Grow up with a Polish Grandmother and you'll get to the point where you never want to see a pierogi again. My cousin has her own business making them using our grandmother's recipe and I recently made her 2 new stolnicas (Polish dough boards) so she could retire Bacia's board which is probably pushing 90. I told her she needed to put Elk Pierogies on the menu...instead I got 10lbs of potato and 5 lbs potato and cheese.
Fried cabbage, potatoes, and kielbasa
This and the one above delicious and grew up on it. RIP Dad.....
Sloppy joes!!!
Only if you sign the song ...sloppy joe slop, sloppy joe sloppy joe slop, sloppy joe uh-hu sloppy joe slop, sloppy joe uu-dah sloppy joe slop, *pphhbbb* joe
Brown gravy over white bread. There was a point in my childhood when that was dinner. I remember my mom crying while I ate, but it was delicious! I still keep instant gravy in the house for the occasional comfort food feast.
Spam n eggs
I'm from Hawaii so...Where's the rice? And you gotta try a Spam musubi. Basically Asian-Hawaiian sandwich
Porkchops with rice smothered in cream of mushroom soup 🤤
add some celery, onion and canned milk and slow cook in until the rice is done, my family loves this
PB & J...Ramen...Kraft Mac & Cheese...Hot Dogs
Tuna fish casserole.
LOL, adding the conversation hearts right next to it just makes it seem ever so much worse! :D
butter on a flour tortilla warmed up, my brother put me on it
We do dahlpuri (so it's like a thick tortilla but with a lentil filling between the layers), heated until it's a little crisp...best thing ever to eat on it's own.
Hamburger Helper
Yikes, I am old, used to be 3 for a dollar. I had a box the other week, and it was way less yummy than I remembered.
Totino’s pizzas.
Don't forget Totino's pizza rolls. LIttle pockets of delicious boiling lava.
Sugar cereal in a bag! I’m so weak to those giant bags of deliciousness. No fruity pebbles or Froot Loops for me! Gimme Dino-Bites with Marshmallows and Tootie Frooties in insane quantities.
I find it quite funny that the image is of Cheerios, a notoriously bland type of breakfast cereal. Although, I'm guilty of eating dry vanilla Cheerios for the sugar-glaze-thing they sweeten them with - I don't think that's quite the scale of sweetness OP was thinking of, though...
Hot dogs and baked beans. Dump can of beans in the pot and add hot dogs. Place over heat source until hot. You can make regular hotdogs if you have bread and eat the beans as a side or directly on top of the hotdogs. If you have no bread, eat as is. Delicious, cheap, and easy. It's one of my favorite meals growing up, and I still make it when I don't want to think too hard or spend much money but want a nice hot dinner that's comforting.
Note: this post originally had 38 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.
I'm british and my favourite cheap food to eat was cheesy beans on toast ( it's actually rlly nice if you put a bit of chilli sauce in the beans)
I love my Heinz beans on toast. If I am feeling fancy I will occasionally use a really delicious Scottish or English aged cheddar. I have used Heinz Curry beans before thinking it would take my beans on toast to the next level, but nothing can beat the original.
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Well, there is very little chance of me getting wealthy any time soon.
Mac and cheese is my absolute favourite meal in the world. It’s super cheap, it’s filling, it’s easy to make and it can be frozen so you can batch cook it. Less than £10 to make 7 or 8 meals
I'm british and my favourite cheap food to eat was cheesy beans on toast ( it's actually rlly nice if you put a bit of chilli sauce in the beans)
I love my Heinz beans on toast. If I am feeling fancy I will occasionally use a really delicious Scottish or English aged cheddar. I have used Heinz Curry beans before thinking it would take my beans on toast to the next level, but nothing can beat the original.
Load More Replies... Well, there is very little chance of me getting wealthy any time soon.
Mac and cheese is my absolute favourite meal in the world. It’s super cheap, it’s filling, it’s easy to make and it can be frozen so you can batch cook it. Less than £10 to make 7 or 8 meals
